Long Overdue

Men from my church lent a hand and graciously gave of their time and resources to assist me during a difficult time.

An update on the TinyHouse has been long overdue. This year has proven to be far more hectic than I anticipated and keeping my head above water has taken most of my time.

At last I have a free moment to write a quick update on how things have progressed with our house.

We seemed to have gotten off to a blazing start in August and September. A donor stepped forward, an architect gave his signature of approval, we began gathering tools and materials, calculated orders, received bids, looked for a trailer, strategize over timelines, and completed our Tiny House Architecture unit in class. The highlight of the unit for the class was our opportunity to interview Jay Shafer (the father of modern tiny homes). It was a tremendous opportunity for my students as they heard from a pioneer first hand.

However, when October hit, we were greeted with a solid month of delays. My students were eye-witness to the complexities and surprise challenges that come with building a house whether 3,000 sq ft. or just 117. If something could be delayed, it was. We would hurry on our end to complete tasks and checklists only to have our hands tied by other parties (i.e. our bid was lost 3 times by a local hardware store). Frankly, October was a difficult month where I often questioned the project and whether or not we could even start to finish.

With the end of October came our first work day. I felt great relief that we were actually underway. Our first day saw much fruit and near completion of what would be the foundation of the house. From there we have steadily worked Tuesdays and Thursdays after school followed by full Saturdays. Slowly but surely the house has begun to take shape. As of last Saturday, all of the walls are framed and standing and we are on track to raise the ridge beam into place after Thanksgiving.

The Bathroom and Bedroom have been framed in preparation for the loft.

To be sure, November has also had its fair share of challenges (who knew that a trailer 2 ft. larger than called for would cause so many headaches?). Winter has decided to kick fall out a month and a half early and we are left to work on the house in frigid temperatures; all the more reason to finish the exterior quickly. Apart from the normal problem solving involved in the house, my schedule and student case load has been filling up and reaching a point where it is necessary to maintain a personal assistant. Through her work, I am relieved of many administrative tasks in order that I can focus on being prepared for my students and continue to problem solve for the house. From this point forward, she will be posting updates to the tune of twice a month.

All in all, the Lord has continued to sustain and provide me strength. Further, generosity has continued to flow from countless people involved in the project. (I am not sure how others managed to build a house by themselves…) Though there have been many situations in which stress could have boiled over, I have rested in the Lord’s timing and work, knowing that he always proves himself a Father to his people. I still believe this house will be completed on time but that the manner in which it will all come together just might be silver-screen worthy.

There is much I could write here but a quick update will have to suffice. To be sure, I have kept a keen record of all that has transpired thus far, and have begun the process of turning this adventure into a book. Once the house is complete, that will become my new venture.